Forced
by Everything4Everyone
Summary: Naruto runs away from home when he's seven years old, and is immediately captured. One year later, he is released, and he vanishes. Four years later, he is forced to return home, to the place that drove him away. He has to be convinced that they love him, before he does something drastic, and destroys everything. They failed. Now they have a chance to make things right.
1. One

Naruto gasped in pain. He'd been running for three days straight without food, sleep, or water. He couldn't stop yet, he wasn't far enough yet to stop, they'd catch him, they'd make him go back, he didn't want to go back!

He stumbled. Weak, he couldn't stay upright and fell heavily. He forced himself to stand on weak, trembling legs, forced himself to keep running, keep moving, to get farther away from the village.

,",",",",

When he fell next, half an hour later, he did not get back up, and lay as still as the dead. A fox approached, almost reverently, and covered the suffering boy with a large leaf from one of the Giant Trees, before leaving.

As the first fox left, another took his place, and gave Naruto a drink, before leaving and being replaced by another.

,",",",",

This went on for almost an hour, before they realized that there was nothing else they could do to help the young Jinchūriki, and departed with great reluctance.

The sky darkened, and then brightened, and then darkened, and then brightened again before Naruto was found.

,",",",",

Yoichiro walked slowly down the road. He was going home, and wished to truly see the world around him. He was enjoying himself immensely, before he saw something that didn't fit. Hair. Human hair. Hair that was attached to a child. A boy, wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, almost covered by a Giant leaf. A boy that was obviously suffering, although Yoichiro did not know why or from what.

He stooped down and gently lifted the child into his arms. The child did not stir. It was as if he was dead. Yoichiro felt traces of alarm. Nobody slept that deeply naturally, and espesially not children.

He sighed softly and began to run, carefully cradling the boy in his protecting arms. He would have to be fast. He could feel the boy's life slipping away as the seconds passed.

,",",",",

Naruto's eyes opened slowly. He jerked as he realized he was in a hospital. They must have found him. He stood up, only to collapse as his entire being protested his movement. Shaking his head, he stood up again. He was surprised that there were no restraints. He'd always been restrained in hospitals.

He whipped his head around as he heard voices and footsteps. Thinking quickly, he hid under the bed, ready to run. The door opened. A gasp sounded. "He's gone." The two of them started talking, but Naruto wasn't listening. He was focused on the window, ready to flee.

The people got closer. Naruto panicked. He ran out from under the bed and jumped out the window, stumbling slightly as he hit the ground running. He heard footsteps behind him, and doubled his efforts.

,",",",",

The chase went on for hours. Naruto always eluded everyone until he turned a corner and ran straight into a man. This man grabbed Naruto's wrist tightly. Naruto flinched and tried to pull away, but the man, whose name was Touma, held on tight and didn't let go. Naruto didn't stop struggling, even as Touma called out "I have him, I repeat, I have him!"

,",",",",

By the time Reo, Himari, and Yoichiro arrived, barely thirty seconds later, Naruto was pulling like crazy, trying to escape. Blood was dripping down his arm from where he'd attemped to gnaw his hand off to get away. It also stained his face, and the collar of his jumpsuit. He was sobbing, pulling, trying to get free, and whispering softly between the sobs of terror, frustration, misery, and rage. It was a very disturbing sight.

"Don't sedate him! If we do, he won't trust us!" Yoichiro shouted. Naruto began to cry harder. "Let me go! I haven't done anything! I don't wanna go back! Just, please, please let me go. . ." He begged. "I just couldn't stay anymore. . . Just let me go! You won't see me again, I promise! Just let me go. . ." His words dissolved into tears, and he fell to the ground. Touma dropped with him, so that the child wouldn't dangle, as he was small, maybe seven, and Touma was a very large man. "Please. . . just let me go." He begged.

Touma picked Naruto up easily. Naruto's crying intensified. "The hospital scared him. Let's find somewhere else where we can heal him. And put a guard on him. I don't think he's mentally stable."

,",",",",

Naruto was given a room in Yoichiro's house, one without windows. The door was locked from the outside. Only the ones who had been directly involved were allowed to see him.

He slept for almost a week before waking up.

,",",",",

As soon as Naruto opened his eyes, he knew that he was in trouble. There were restraints holding him down, the door was locked, and there weren't any windows. He sighed. "Guess I don't have a choice. "

,",",",",

After a while, Yoichiro came in. Seeing that Naruto was awake, he smiled and introduced himself. "Hello. My name is Yoichiro. What's yours?" Naruto looked warily and fearfully at him. "I'm Naruto." Yoichiro came closer, only to back away as Naruto shrank back, pressing against the frame in an attemp to get farther away from him. "Naruto, I found you lying on the side of the road out of town. Care to explain why?" Naruto shook his head. Yoichiro sat down in a chair at the side of the bed, ignoring Naruto's flinch. "Naruto, if you don't tell me, then I'll have to keep you here. Wouldn't you like to go home, or go free?" Naruto looked away. "I ran away from home. I passed out due to exhaustion, and then you found me. End of story." He looked back at Yoichiro, who raised an eyebrow. "Okay. Then why did you run away?" Naruto looked away, and stayed silent. "Naruto, I can't let you go unless you have a guardian that I can release you to. So unless you tell me who your guardian is, you aren't leaving." Naruto whipped around. "If I tell you, then you'll make me go back to him, and he'll make me go back! I'm not going back!" Yoichiro shrugged. "Then I guess you're staying here." He got up and walked to the door. Without turning back, he asked, "Are you sure that you won't tell? I'm sure that your guardian's very worried about you. And I'm also sure that you don't want to stay here. Do you really want to stay in this village forever, never being able to leave for even a moment, never to see your home or family again?" And then he left without waiting for an answer.

,",",",",

The next morning, a DNA coded collar was made for Naruto. It would prevent him from attacking anyone without good reason, and it would prevent him from leaving. Since Naruto was not an adult, he could only be released into the hands of an adult. And since Naruto refused to tell them any adults he knew, he would have to stay with them until someone came to pick him up or everyone in the village voted to let him go, and neither of those were very likely.

After the collar was applied, Naruto was allowed out of the room that he'd been imprisoned in.

He didn't play with the other children, even when they invited him. He seemed afraid of them. He seemed afraid of everyone. He refused to go into restaurants, stores, or any other kind of building. And he almost never ate. He always sat on a certain swing, and watched the people. Children mostly, but many adults as well. He slept out in the streets more often than not.

,",",",",

Then one day, something changed. Naruto tripped on a brick in the street, right in front of an old woman. He seemed petrified by her, and cringed like he expected to be hit. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?" the woman, Sana, asked, helping him up. He fazed at her with childish wonder. "You don't. . . hate me?" The entire street stopped, dumbfounded. Sana was shocked. "Of course not! I don't have any reason to hate you!" Naruto looked her in the eyes. "Then do you fear me?" Sana shook her head. A genuine look of bewilderment crept over his face, and he asked one word that shocked everyone to the core.

"Why?"

That one word froze everyone in their tracks. "Everybody either hates or fears me. So why don't you? The few who didn't either hate or fear me were the ones that I destroyed. Two of them ran a restaurant. I ruined their buisness. One was a teacher. He nearly died several times. One was a ruler. I made life in general difficult for him. These were all good people. Too good to be around me. So, if I were you, I'd hate me. Hate me and fear me with all your heart, or you'll get hurt too. And I might be a demon, but I'm tired of hurting people and having to deal with lies. You're going to hate me anyways. All of you will. Hate and fear.

"You should let me go."

He tried to leave then, but Sana grabbed his arm. "Why do you believe this? I've watched you, and I see no reason to either hate or fear you. And you definitely are not a demon. Demons don't care about others." Naruto smiled softly. "I appreciate that, but you're just one person who happens to be seeing things. Just forget about me, hate me, fear me, I really don't care. But don't think of me as anything other that a monster, a demon, a creature. " Naruto left then, leaving a street full of stunned people, many of them with tears in their eyes.

,",",",",

The next day, the children surrounded Naruto at his swing. "Naruto-kun, come play with us. You never play with us, and we want to play with you!" A girl, named Kokalo, said pleadingly. Naruto sighed. "Kokalo-chan, I appreciate the gesture, but you really don't want me to play with you." A boy, named Arashi, grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him forwards. "Oh, we do, actually, Naruto-kun." He said, teasing slightly. Kokalo spoke up again. "Naruto-kun, we're playing Ninja. You're gonna be on Sora-kun's team." Sora, a shy boy, waved from the back. "You'll be against Hana-chan's team." Hana waved boldly from what was kinda the middle. "Do you know how to play?" At Naruto's nod, she grinned. "Then let's go!"

,",",",",

It had been a year since Kitashiobara had accepted Naruto as one of them when Naruto was called to a meeting of all adults in the village, concerning whether one Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze was to be freed or continued to be kept prisoner. Of course, the children would watch.

"Naruto, would you please come up here." It was finally time. Time to see if he would be freed or not. He smiled serenely as he stepped up and sat down right in the center of the square of adults. "Are we ready, Himari-sama?" She nodded. "Yes. Let's begin, shall we?" She took a deep breath. 'This meeting shall decide your fate, Naruto. I hope it works out in your favor. We all care for you, Sunshine.' She thought wistfully.

Sunshine was Naruto's nickname.


	2. Two

"This meeting shall now begin. First, would Yoichiro Hamichi please come up here in order to talk about the subject's life?" Yoichiro stood up, and gracefully ascended to the speaking platform. "The subject first appeared one year ago, found on the side of the road under a Giant leaf, exhausted. When he woke up, he panicked, and fled, injuring nobody but himself. When recovered, he was scared of everything, and refused to give us the name of a parent or guardian, forcing us to keep him here, until he gets an unaminous vote that he should be freed. The day has come to vote on whether Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze should be freed, or continued to be kept here. Thank you, fellow citizens of Kitashiobara, for the opportunity that you are giving this child." He squeezed Naruto's hand, before departing, and joining the crowd.

Naruto now stood alone on the platform, apart from Himari.

Himari stepped forwards. "Would anybody like to give a reason why we should abandon this vote?" She was greeted by complete silence. She smiled. "Good. The voting can now begin." Everyone whipped out pieces of paper that were kepr under the seats for voting, and began to put their answers. Naruto idly wondered if he could leave and come back later. He doubted anyone would notice. They were all too absorved in their answers to look up at him, trying to decide whether to be the deciding vote and keep him there, or set him free. After all, just one vote for him to stay there, and he would. It had to be unanimous.

Naruto's hand crept up to his collar. It was simple, a piece of his hair imbued with chakra and covered in seals, but powerful. It had been used in wars to take and keep prisoners. It was known as a Dīenuē Eri, and could be used with skin or clothes.

Naruto looked out over the crowd. This small village had accepted him in a way that Konoha never had. It had given him love and acceptance, and never tried to kill him. He was amazed at how kind the Kitashiobarans were to him, despite knowing what he was.

,",",",",

The voting ended. Everyone put their slips of paper into a seal that was waiting. The seal then transferred the paper to Himari, who looked them over. Finally, after a long pause, she looked up. "It is settled. Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze is to be freed from Kitashiobara, to live his life as he should choose." She moved to stand behind Naruto, and, with a snap, broke the Dīenuē Eri, setting the young Jinchūriki free. She had always hated that collar, anyway. It had imprisoned the young Jinchūriki that she had grown to love, and she couldn't bear to see it on him for another second. Naruto smiled at her. "Thanks, Himari-sama." She smiled. She really did love him, perhaps too much. She didn't want to let him go. But he needed to go, needed to be free. She couldn't hold him there forever.

Himari stepped back. "You're free, Naruto." She told him, tears glistening in her eyes. He smiled baxk at her. "Thank you so much, Himari-sama. You have done me a great service." He bowed, before vanishing. He had been taught the Shunshin by a traveling ninja, and had used it ever since. Himari smiled softly, before departing.

,",",",",

Naruto left the next day without much fanfare. The entire village came to say goodbye and wish him luck. Naruto recieved a gift from everybody. He recieved so many, in fact, that they had to make a seal on his right arm to hold it all.

And then he left. No fanfare, no noise, just him walking off into the distance. And everyone made a small prayer that he would be okay. He was only eight, after all.

They heard only rumors and legends about him from then on out, and they all told their children about the young Jinchūriki who had stayed with them for a while, who had been the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, who had been not only a Jinchūriki, but the Kyūbi's Jinchūiki, and who became a legend.

,",",",",

Naruto smiled at the young couple in front of him. "Tsuneko will be fine. She's just exhasted." Kanoko, the woman of the couple, smiled in relief. "Thank you, Sunshine-sama. We're in your debt." Naruto looked startled. "Where did you get the idea to call me that?" Kanoko smiled. "Everyone speaks of the boy with sunshine yellow hair and a smile bright enough to blind, who has no alligences, who is a self-taught ninja, and who has a heart of gold, and claims to be from Kitashiobara. This boy is known only as Sunshine." Eiichi, the man of the couple, smiled reassuringly. "Everybody knows you, Sunshine-sama. Everybody." Naruto smiled. "Good to know. I guess that Kitashiobara spread around my nickname." He turned and started to leave. "Thank you for entrusting me with your daughter. It's not often that I am given such trust. I will never betray it." And then he was gone, leaving nothing behind. The couple looked at each other. "He really is like the legends say. You hear that Tsuneko? You were saved by a legend." They smiled down at the infant in Kanoko's arms.

,",",",",

Naruto slowly got to his feet, using a tree for support. Blood stained the ground around him. His opponent, Daiki, a missing-nin of Suna, gaped at him. "You're still alive? HOW? I put enough power into that to kill nine men!" Naruto grinned. "I might not know many Jutsus, and I might have never had a real teacher, but I managed to teach myself some things, things that you can't learn from teachers." He looked Daiki straight in the eye. "And I never, ever give up." He began to walk towards Daiki, who shrunk away in fear. "People know me as Sunshine around here. You might have heard of me, Daiki-san. I hear that I'm quite famous nowadays." Daiki whimpered. "I-I-I'm sorry! I-I-I d-didn't k-know it was y-y-you!" Naruto grinned. "It's a bit late for apologies now. You committed a crime, Daiki-san, and I'm here to make sure you pay for it." He advanced, backing Daiki up against a tree. "Murder of a child, attempted murder of a child, rape of a child, attempted rape of an adult, murder of an adult, attempted murder of an adult, rape of an adult, theft, kidnapping of a child, kidnapping of an adult, becoming a missing-nin of Sunagakure, and attacking a civilian of Kitashiobara. For these crimes, you shall die." Daiki began babbling, pleading. Naruto leaned down right in front of him. "For what it's worth, I don't want to do this, and I'm truly sorry." He stabbed Daiki twice, quicker than the eye could see, once in the head and once in the heart, before stepping back and watching as the blood poured from the wounds. He always insisted on seeing all that he had done. It was an atonement, a punishment. He didn't want to see, didn't want to know, didn't want to look at what he'd done, and his bloody handiwork. But he forced himself to see as much as he could, whenever he could. This was his atonement, his punishment.

Daiki died several minutes later. Naruto knelt in prayer for a moment, and began to gather chakra. "Kasai rirīsu: Damudo no moetsuki." He said softly, watching as the body went up in flames. "Goodbye, Daiki. May you rest in eternal peace." And then he simply vanished, leaving nothing behind.

,",",",",

Naruto smiled defiantly. "Because I never, ever give up, and Kami gave me the strength and my precious people gave me the willpower to follow this through. It's my precious people that make life worth living, even if I can never see them again. You understand that, don't you? You have those people who are worth more than life itself to you? Someone you would die for in an instant? I haven't seen my precious people in years, but they are still my inspiration, my love, my reason. You have someone like that, don't you?" Haku set down his weapon. "I do. And you already know who it is, yes?" Naruto nodded. "Zabuza Momochi. The Demon of the Hidden Mists. And your precious person." He also set his weapon down. "Haku-san, I don't want to fight you. I hate killing and hurting people. Would you and Zabuza-san mind leaving Tazuna and his family and village alone? I don't care where you go, as long as it's somewhere that I won't have to hurt you. Would you please consider this?" Haku nodded. "I'll talk to Zabuza about it, and tell you our decision on the bridge at dawn." He paused, looking down. "I never thought that I'd find a kindred spirit anywhere, much less here. Thank you, Sunshine-san. May we meet again." Naruto smiled. "May we meet again." And then the two each left, going their separate ways.

The meeting on the bridge went well. Haku and Zabuza left Wave Country peacefully, Tazuna and his village and family was saved, and Naruto didn't have to kill or hurt anyone. Everyone was happy, and Inari was inspired to consider Naruto his hero, his nii-san, his precious person. Naruto figured that might come in handy later.

,",",",",

Naruto swung Towairaito, easily chopping off the man's head, before turning and slicing another in half, and another lost both arms, and yet another lost a leg. The group drew back in fear, before charging sll at once. Naruto sighed, leaning on Towairaito. "They never learn, do they." It wasn't a question. He looked up. "Supēsurirīsu: Kyūkyoku no hogo no shīrudo."

A purple sphere surrounded him completely. The men tried to turn back, but it was too late. Everything that touched the sphere exploded, resulting in a mix of blood, bones, metal, brains, wood, flesh, paper, and other things that Naruto didn't even want to think about.

It was rather gross.

,",",",",

Naruto went only by Sunshine now. Nobody called him anything else. In the past four years, he had been called no name other than Sunshine. He rather liked it. He had earned the title, after all.

He missed not only the few from Konoha that he cared about, but also the many from Kitashiobara.

He lived four happy years, completely free.

He had been jailed for six months, wounded to the point of death, and attacked by a lake, but they had still been the happiest years of his life.

Too bad it couldn't last. Naruto was being searched for by powerful ninja, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Hiruzen being some of them. They were all determined to get the small Jinchūriki back. They all loved the small blond, and wondered exactly why he left. What had happened to make him abandon Konoha?

And would he return to Konoha willingly, or would they have to force the young blond Jinchūriki to return?

 ** _They're coming, and they're not holding back. They're going to get him back, or else._**

Naruto laughed childishly at the sight before him. "Who would have thought?"


	3. Three

Sunshine sat on the ground, his back against a tree. A mutilated body laid in his lap. It was headless and unrecognizable. It was shredded and torn so badly that not even her parents would recognize her.

She'd been a missing-nin from Suma. Gaara would be pleased. He liked Sunshine a lot and had even begun emulating him lately. Missing-nin really were a big deal for some reason, and everybody was pleased whenever Sunshine brought one in.

Sunshine stood up, gently lowering her body to the ground and taking several steps away before turning to face her. "Sōgi-jutsu: Hai no nenshō."

He watched as her body slowly dissolved, turning to ash from the inside out. He watched as the wind blew away her ashes, scattering them to the four corners of the world. He watched as the glittering embers she'd left behind slowly faded away. He watched as she burned.

It was an atonement, to always watch what he did. Sunshine knew that he would always have nightmares about her. Asatsuyu Mūnraito. Twenty-three years old. Long black hair, kind and sweet face, open blue eyes. Senbon and throwing knife user. Engaged to be married to Yoshiya Fuji. Had a full life ahead of her, but went insane with the loss of her Jōnin-sensei and team. Left Suma because she couldn't stand to be there without her team.

Sunshine would never forget her. He wouldn't be able to. And that was okay. This was the life he had chosen, after all. A life completely and entirely devoted to others. Sunshine didn't fight for himself. He carried the entire world on his shoulders. Even those who hated him he carried on his shoulders. And he always loved those he killed.

Sunshine turned and begun walking off. Shunshining was a waste of time, effort, and purpose. His job was to help others, after all, and he really couldn't do that if he shunshined everywhere. The only place that he never went was Konoha. That place was full of bad memories, memories of pain and blood and rejection. Memories of being flung to the ground, the truth being sneered in his face, the knife coming down across his already scarred cheeks, of the fox. Memories of betrayal, of hurt, of faces carved in stone leering over him, reminding him that he would never be good enough, of foxes and pain and prejudiced cries and calls and healing and clawing and trying to escape his prison...

,",",",",

Sunshine carefully handed the infant to her mother. "Here you go, ma'am." He said kindly. She sniffled, looking up at him with tears of gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you, Sunshine-sama. Thank you so much." He chuckled nervously, putting one hand behind his head to scratch the back of his skull. "Really, ma'am, it was nothin'. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time." She smiled down at her daughter. "I-Is there any way for me to repay you?"

Sunshine put his other hand behind his head, leaning back against them. "Just stay alive. Keep yourself and your daughter and any other family that you might have alive, if not safe. Please." The woman nodded, glancing down at her daughter again. "I promise." He smiled at her. "No matter what happens, always remember that she is a human. She is a human, and she has feelings and emotions, and that she can break if you push her too hard, but she could also break from not being pushed enough. Remember that she is human whenever she does a wrong, whenever she cries. Always remember that she is your child and that you have a duty to protect her and care for her under any circumstances. A parent can't just up and leave when the going gets tough. They should stick by their child through thick and through thin, and always, always, love them and care for them."

He turned to her, sky-blue eyes earnest and determined. She was surprised at the empathy within their celeste depths. "If you can do that, then consider your debt to me more than paid." His eyes were so sad. "I knew a child once who didn't have parents like that. You see, his parents both died on the day of his birth. Since he was born on the day a demon attacked the village, he was seen by all as the demon reincarnate. He...he couldn't stand it. His name was Naruto." The woman frowned. She'd never heard of a Naruto. "Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. The son of the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, Kushina Uzumaki, and the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, Minato Namikaze. Secretly, of course. He told me his secret a long time ago. Most people don't even know that he existed.

He smiled at her, hurt deep in his eyes. "Please don't ever let that happen to your daughter. I would rather you kill her than have her life such a life of pain."

And then he turned and walked away, slowly meandering his way to Suma to return Asatsuyu's head and claim his reward. She watched him so, awestruck, before looking down at the girl in her arms that had just been saved twice.

,",",",",

"DAMN IT! WHERE IS HE!" Tsunade shouted, punching the table, which promptly disintegrated. Jiraiya looked as if he wanted to follow her lead, but instead sighed and slouched. "WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR HIM FOR FOUR WHOLE YEARS NOW! HE'S ACADEMY AGE! HE SHOULD BE GRADUATING THIS YEAR WITH SASUKE AND CHOJI AND INO AND SHIKAMARU AND SAKURA AND HINATA AND KIBA! HE SHOULDN'T BE KAMI KNOWS WHERE AT HIS AGE! _WHY CAN'T WE FIND HIM?_ " Hiruzen looked down, ashamed. "I'm sorry, Tsunade. We've searched in every single village we can think of. I don't know what else to do. But we'll find him. I promise." She nodded, but her heart wasn't in it.

They had been searching for Naruto for five long years, ever since he had disappeared. He'd left no note, no explanation. He was there one day and gone the next. At first, Hiruzen had thought it had been a joke, but as time had gone on, it hadn't been funny anymore.

They now referred to looking for Naruto as 'hunting for ghosts', as he seemed to be everywhere yet nowhere. He was always there, but yet never there. When they left the village, they would see him in the corner of their eyes, but when they'd turn to look, he'd be gone, just an illusion. They heard of people who matched his description, but none of them were him. They were starting to lose hope.

It had been five years, and they hadn't gotten anywhere. They were still where they'd started, only worse off. They all had more problems now, they were all busier now, and they were all losing their spark. They were tired and worn out.

Sleep was only possible when they were exhausted far beyond their limits. None of them had slept in weeks, and none of them would sleep for many more. Every time they closed their eyes, horrible nightmares sprung to life in the darkness, all involving a certain blond and blue-eyed jinchūriki. They searched for him ceaselessly, rarely even bothering to even go to their bedrooms. it was pointless. They'd lie awake for hours, their minds turning over thoughts too much to handle. The only way that they could get sleep was by collapsing from exhaustion, and even that was rare. Sleep was a thing of the past for them now.

Jiraiya sighed. "I got a lead. Apparently, there's this kid called Sunshine. Looks an awful lot like our Naruto. Tan skin, three whisker marks on each cheek, celeste eyes, and hair like Minato's. I'd say it's worth checking out." Tsunade looked up, determination flaring in her eyes. "I'm coming too." Jiraiya just nodded, defeat visible in his face. None of them could refuse the others anything that had to do with their missing jinchūriki. None of them had the heart. Not anymore.

They all parted ways with subdued expressions and slow steps. Tsunade would return home to pack for the mission, and then cry on Shizune's shoulder for a few hours and then waiting at the village gates for Jiraiya. Hiruzen would remain in his office, working through paperwork at a record speed for any Hokage, never once ceasing until Shizune, who had been appointed the official Hokage's assistant, brought him some tea and a hot cloth for his hands. Jiraiya would sneak into the women's baths to attempt to distract himself from the missing jinchūriki. It rarely worked, but the girls would sometimes beat him hard enough that he'd pass out, which would make him wake up feeling refreshed. Then he'd go to the village gates and wait for Tsunade.

This was their life now. None of them liked it, but none of them could bear to give it up.

Not until he was back.

,",",",",

Sunshine grinned happily, stepping out of the shadows. "Hey! I got your missing-nin!" He heard a light chuckle and whipped around to face Gaara. The redhead smiled at the indignant boy. "Well done, Sunshine-sama. Where're the goods?" Sunshine's grin stretched even wider as he pulled a small and basic containment seal out of his headband, which he wore in place of a hitai-ate, and presented it to the other jinchūriki, who took it gleefully. Brushing his hand over the chakra paper, he sent a small burst of chakra into it to release it, then reached into it. His fingers grasped something, and he pulled it out excitedly.

His hand came out, clutching a mutilated head's hair. It had long hair clumped together by gore and wide, staring eyes. There were so many injuries that there was barely any untouched skin. It had been forcefully ripped from the body, and nerves and muscles were still dangling from its severed neck. Gaara's eyes widened in absolute glee. "Thank you for this precious gift, Sunshine-sama. It was a wonderful view. I'm sure that the identifiers will have a lot of fun with this one." He walked off, head still firmly clutched in his grasp.

Sunshine giggled. "Same old Gaara, huh?"

He turned and walked off, heading for the next village on his route. Gaara would be too deep in his bloodthirsty examination daze to spend any time with him a while, and Sunshine hated staying in one place. He'd been born to travel. Hyperactivity wasn't good for ninja, but was excellent for traveling.

He set off on his way, humming a tune that the Kyūbi no Kitsune liked to hum. It sounded really sad and mournful, but with underlying currents of happiness and hope. Sunshine liked it. It was a good song for somebody like him.

He had met the Kyūbi almost four year ago, soon after he'd left Kitashiobara. He'd come very close to death, and the Kyūbi had saved him. Since then, they'd talk occasionally, but mostly just helped and supported each other. That was fine with both of them. They both preferred to concentrate on what they were doing, not what the other was saying. It worked better that way.

 _Look out!_


End file.
